A Pakistani girl displaced by the offensive against the Taliban rests at a camp Saturday north of Islamabad.

CNN

The United States is sending $100 million in aid to Pakistan to help alleviate the plight of the estimated 2 million people displaced by the offensive against Taliban extremists, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Tuesday.

The money comes on top of $60 million in assistance already provided by the United States to Pakistan since last August.

The assistance is "essential to the global security and security of the United States," Clinton said in a White House briefing. Much of the aid will be directed toward the purchase of Pakistani grain as part of a larger "investment in the people and economy in Pakistan."

The Pakistani government is helping to lead the fight against extremists threatening "our collective security" and therefore deserves to be supported, she argued.

Clinton called on individual Americans to support the relief effort in the form of $5 donations by texting the word "SWAT" to the number 20222.

Pakistan's military launched a massive operation against Taliban militants in its northwest region earlier this month after a peace deal collapsed and the militants moved within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad.

Much of the recent fighting has been centered in and around Pakistan's Swat Valley.

Keep Reading...